Lawsuit links former UCF athletic trainer to Cal player's death

Iliana Limón Romero, Orlando Sentinel

The athletic trainer present during former UCF football player Ereck Plancher's final workout supervised the offseason conditioning drills leading up to another athlete's recent death, according to court records.

Robert Jackson, who was an assistant athletic trainer at UCF at the time of Plancher's death, was present during the last workout of Cal athlete Ted Agu.

The attorneys who represented the Plancher family have filed a lawsuit in Oakland on behalf of Agu's family, asserting Jackson failed to stop the workout when Agu suffered complications from a blood condition called sickle-cell trait.

An Orange County jury found UCF Athletics Association was negligent in Plancher's death that was also linked to sickle-cell trait. The damages in the case are near $15 million and the family is still in the process of appealing to receive the full amount awarded by the jury.

Florida attorneys Steve Yerrid and Jeffrey Murphy have joined Los Angeles-based firm Panish Shea & Boyle alleging the University of California at Berkeley coaches and athletic trainers were reckless and negligent on the day of Agu's death.

Agu, 21, died after a team conditioning drills on Feb. 7. While the Agu legal team contends he showed signs of sickle-cell trait complications including dizziness, shortness of breath and loss of balance, a medical examiner determined excessive thickening of the heart muscle caused his death.

"Ted Agu was a model student athlete and a great young man," Yerrid said. "We look forward to revealing the truth and circumstances surrounding his tragic and premature death. At the core of our dedication to obtaining justice for the Agu family is a desire to put an end to the senseless, unnecessary deaths of young student-athletes like Ted."

Cal officials released a statement in response to the litigation that read, "The members of our football family and our entire campus community remain deeply saddened with the loss of Ted Agu. We will continue to honor Ted in all we do. He will forever be a beloved member of our Golden Bear family."